Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Winter Weather?

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

The forecasts I am getting online and on TV for Mt Washington Valley again just don't look that great for tomorrow and Thursday. Snow?? 6-12 inches? Wet soggy snow? Wind?

Last week I expected the weather to be too cold and wet for biking... however I heard that everyone had a great time on the West Side/Passaconaway ride!!! (Tom and I did NOT ride last Thursday because the weather was too damp and too windy in Santa Barbara, California!!)

I saw thehappy biker photos linked to this blog! Great photos!! It is wonderful to see everyone out there riding --looks chilly!!

So what to do for this week?? I don't want to set up a ride too far from home or too high in elevation because the weather will likely be too cold and windy up and away.

So, again, look out your window on Thursday morning, and if it is good for a ride, meet again at 10:00 behind the Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway. Riders choice - do West Side Road to Conway Village and loop back via the Kanc, Albany Covered Bridge and Passaconaway. Or, you can ride over to North-South road to Conway Village and back up West Side Road.

I hope that the weather allows for another ride!! We don't want to break the streak of continuous Thursday rides since April 1st!!!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Thursday, April 22

Thursday April 22nd
West Side Road and Passaconaway

The weather forecasts on 4 different online sites do not agree on the details of the weather for Thursday. They do agree on mostly cloudy with showers. One put the showers in the morning, one puts the showers in the afternoon, the others suggests showers all day. So, from out here on the West Coast (Tom and I reached the Pacific today--- As Clark wrote in his diaries in 1805: "Ocien in view! O the joy!"), I'll just guess and set up a close-to-home, short ride so that perhaps it can be achieved without riders getting wet and cold!!

So, if the weather looks good out your window on Thursday morning, meet at 10:00 am behind the Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway, ready to ride. The West Side Road-Passaconaway ride to the Albany Covered Bridge should work (25 miles round trip). If the weather is good, head up to the Rocky Gorge for a 30 mile round trip ride.

I hope the sun comes out for you! Tom and I are actually dealing with a forecast of rain and wind here on the coast for tomorrow. Rain in SoCal????

Have a good ride!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Springtime Ride in Brownfield

Thursday, April 15th

Early Springtime ride in Brownfield

Weather.com says that Thursday should be a good day for a bike ride in the Mt. Washington Valley! I have mapped out the Brownfield ride so that it should be a good one for early-in-the-season biking muscles and saddle. This version does not do the steep climbs on the east side of the Saco - save them for later in the season! There are great views on this ride, and a really nice cruise downhill on Sam Brown Hill Road! There are ways to lengthen or shorten this ride if you like.

Meet: Maine Visitors Center, Fryeburg. It is on the right, just over the NH border on Route 302. It looks like a railroad station - has bathrooms!

Time: Ready to ride at 10:00 am

Distance 23 miles

Route: It is about 5.5 miles on Haleytown Road to the intersection with Hampshire Rd. Ride to the intersection with route 113 and you have about 9 miles. Turn right onto 113 for about 100 yards, then right again on Pig Street (flattest road in town), back to Hampshire (also called Main Street), then, at about 11 miles, bear left onto Merrill Corner Road (NOT Dugway Road. Merrill Corner if after Dugway, just before crossing a bridge). This is a gradual uphill grade (good early season spin). Shorten the ride about 5 miles by staying on Hampshire and riding back to Haleytown -- but you miss the views!). Turn left onto Old County Road for another gradual climb, then a right onto Sam Brown Hill Road. Enjoy the view and the downhill! Right onto Porter, right onto Hampshire (at the bottom of Asparagus Hill! Smile, you won't be climbing it!), then left back onto Haleytown to the parking lot.
This is one of Connie's favorite rides, - it is a great ride, thank you Connie!!!

Here is a map:

View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com

Greetings to everyone from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Tom and I did a great ride yesterday in the high desert. Can it rain in the desert??? You betcha. We waited 1.5 hours in a town park gazebo for a spectacular thunderstorm to pass. Rain, hail, lightening and rivers of water rushing down the center of the road. It cleared out and dried in 10 minutes. The bad news was that the anxiously anticipated tailwind for the ride home shifted (of course) to a nasty side wind until the final 5 miles where we finally hoisted sails and flew back to the car.

Enjoy your bike ride in the new spring green! Out here in desert beige and tan, spring green would be a good color for a hi-vis bike shirt!


Tuesday, April 6, 2010

West Side Passaconaway

Thursday, April 8th

West Side-Passaconaway-Albany Covered Bridge

The weather may be OK for a ride on Thursday!! Look out your window and make the call in the morning!! I am in New Mexico, so I will not be able to post a ride "Go" or "No Go" on Thursday morning.

Here's the plan:

Meet in the public parking lot behind the Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway.

10:00 am Ready to Ride

The ride will go down West Side Road to Allen's Siding to Passaconaway Road to the Albany Covered Bridge. Round trip is 25 miles. If you want more, you can ride up the Kanc to the Rocky Gorge for a round trip of about 30 miles. If the weather is iffy, you can turn back at any point and still get a good early season "saddle warmer" in!!!

Have a great ride!!